Li, a recent graduate from China, relocated to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She wanted to break away from her difficult history and start a new life, far away from her family. She was bold in the face of her abuser. With her father’s assistance, Tang, she was able to bring him to justice for the sexual assault and rape, which she experienced as a teen. Tang was recently sentenced to 12 and a half years in prison after being convicted of these offenses.
The abuse started when Li was only 15 years old in 2009. She fought for years to process the traumatic experiences she went through, finally acknowledging long after the fact that those experiences were sexual assaults. As part of her fight for justice, Li heroically confronted her dad while wearing a microphone. She video-taped their terrible interaction, and this tape would serve as damning evidence against him. Unbeknownst to her, her fiancé, Ma Ke, had taken refuge in nearby bushes and videotaped the surprise. Now, he was determined that Li—who’s only thirteen—would get her day in court.
Li’s journey has not been easy. She stated, “Pain is all I can remember about my first sexual experience.” This hard earned memory reveals the precious human cost that years of trauma has taken on her. Despite her efforts to move on with her life, including marrying Ma Ke in a private ceremony that excluded her mother, Lui, Li still grapples with ongoing nightmares and memories that haunt her.
The bond between Li and her mother has been severely tested by what happened in the past. What’s more, Lui didn’t go to the police when she learned of the abuse, a decision she still greatly regrets today. “What I regret the most is not calling the police in 2009 because I felt embarrassed to even mention it,” she confessed. This regret only exacerbates the family’s pain as they continue to deal with the fallout from Tang’s actions.
At the trial in China, Li made a strong case using tragic video evidence she had captured while in Ethiopia. Justice is elusive, but her resolve to see it served guides her every action. Her hope now is that no other victim will have to go through what she has. “I want to try my best and consider everything that I might overlook, leaving no possibility of escape for the perpetrator,” she expressed resolutely.
The emotional toll of having to recount traumatic experiences in order to collect evidence has taken a huge toll on Li. In challenging her father, she was made to re-examine traumatic experiences. Yet this process was clearly essential, Brianne found it deeply traumatizing. Li tells her story to inspire other victims of abuse. She encourages them to document each occurrence with law enforcement, making certain they collect evidence to be used in potential criminal trials.
Christine Ma Ke Ma Ke has supported Li through this difficult process. He recalls the moment she disclosed her past to him, stating, “When our relationship turned romantic, she suddenly brought it up with me. She simply asked me if I could not accept her past … we could break up.” As he learned more about her condition, his initial shock blossomed into a profound empathy for her suffering. “I was shocked at first. My heart aches knowing what happened to her,” he shared.
Despite the challenges they have faced together, Li and Ma Ke have built a life in Ethiopia, away from their painful pasts. While this new chapter is an important step toward healing for Li, she’s the first to admit that trauma is here to stay. “I would just be so depressed,” said Lui. “I would take a jail sentence myself instead of having her to cry.”
